Figure 1: Telecommuting can be a great way to do business but it is not without its down falls.
Telecommuting as Sustainability problem
Introduction
When most people think about going to work and having a job, thoughts of traveling to and from there place of business arise. The average commute for Americans is around nineteen miles, one way, for my summer job I commuted fifteen miles, one way, and on average I consumed about two gallons gasoline per day just going to and from work. A way around the commuting, and therefore reducing fuel consumption is telecommuting. Telecommuting is a form of commuting when a person works predominantly from home, and works via telephone and internet capabilities to communicate with co-workers.
Background
Having reduction in fuel consumption is ultimately a way to be sustainable, but besides the apparent energy savings, working from home can change a person’s family and social behaviors. When people work from home, there becomes a blurred line between home and work. Every day that line becomes blurred, even for people that do not telecommute, with the advent of Apples Iphone®, Motorola’s Droid®, and all Smartphone people now have access to work related materials twenty four-seven and everywhere they go. This type of connection can create tensions between members of a family (Crosbie, 2004). Personally my father has been working from a home office for a little over ten years, and within this time he has tried although sometimes unsuccessfully to avoid working beyond the “normal” constraints of the workday.
In a traditional office, employees may share certain equipment such as printers and copiers, but in a home office an individual would need to have their own. This in turn increases electronic waste production (Pepper, 1995). As production of electronics grows, and the over consumption of these products grows, the question we need to ask ourselves, is how did consumption reach such an alarming rate and what can we do to fix it?
Besides this environmental effect, working from home can also have psychological effects on, not only the person whom is conducting business at the home, but also on the people that inhabit the home along with this person. Persons working from home may begin to feel depressed, due to several factors which include monotony, loneliness, and stress (Thompson, 2006). Although monotony, can be present in anyone’s work, whether working from home or at an office daily activities can become routine and boring. The major reason this monotony is of large concern to the telecommuter, is that they almost never leave the confinement of their home. Working form home one also loses the necessary social interactions that one would normal get from an office setting. Loss of this interaction adds to peoples stress levels, which can already be overwhelmed by daily stresses, such as work anxiety, bills, and family stresses.
When people work under stress, they are not functioning at their optimum level. Heightened stress levels can increase a person risk for heart disease, memory impairment, and obesity (Mayo Clinc Staff, 2010). Adding to this stress level is the blurring line between ones home life and work life. As one becomes almost entirely integrated into their work, personal relationships can begin to breakdown, along with the person awareness. People that are stressed often look for the path of least resistance, like in their eating habits, clothing and other aspects of their life. Fast food, processed food, shopping, and even TV are ways that people cope with stress, adding to the over-consumption and over production of “throw-away” goods.
Conclusion
I’m not saying telecommuting is evil, AND I’m also not saying that everyone should commute to an office. It can in some cases be a brilliant way for a person to conduct business, and be a part of family affairs when the occasion arises. But it can has been shown that working from home introduces a person to a different set of environmental stresses, that can lead to a disconnectION from their reality, and can lead to environmentally unsustainable practices by companies and individuals alike.
Supporting sites:
Telecommuting: Benefits and Challenges for Employers and Employee
Mayo Clinc Staff. (2010, September 11). Stress: Constant stress puts your health at risk. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from mayoclinc.com: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001/METHOD=print
Thompson, S. (2006, November 2006). Working from Home: How to Avoid Depression. (Yahoo.com) Retrieved October 23, 2010, from Associated Content: www.associatedcontent.com
Tracey Crosbie and Jeanne Moore (2004). Work–life Balance and Working from Home. Social Policy and Society, 3, pp 223-233 doi:10.1017/S1474746404001733
Shamir B, Salomon I. Work-At-Home and the Quality of Working Life. Academy of Management Review [serial online]. July 1985;10(3):455-464. Available from: Business Source Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 16, 2010.
Figure 1: Telecommuting can be a great way to do business but it is not without its down falls.
Telecommuting as Sustainability problem
Introduction
When most people think about going to work and having a job, thoughts of traveling to and from there place of business arise. The average commute for Americans is around nineteen miles, one way, for my summer job I commuted fifteen miles, one way, and on average I consumed about two gallons gasoline per day just going to and from work. A way around the commuting, and therefore reducing fuel consumption is telecommuting. Telecommuting is a form of commuting when a person works predominantly from home, and works via telephone and internet capabilities to communicate with co-workers.Background
Having reduction in fuel consumption is ultimately a way to be sustainable, but besides the apparent energy savings, working from home can change a person’s family and social behaviors. When people work from home, there becomes a blurred line between home and work. Every day that line becomes blurred, even for people that do not telecommute, with the advent of Apples Iphone®, Motorola’s Droid®, and all Smartphone people now have access to work related materials twenty four-seven and everywhere they go. This type of connection can create tensions between members of a family (Crosbie, 2004). Personally my father has been working from a home office for a little over ten years, and within this time he has tried although sometimes unsuccessfully to avoid working beyond the “normal” constraints of the workday.In a traditional office, employees may share certain equipment such as printers and copiers, but in a home office an individual would need to have their own. This in turn increases electronic waste production (Pepper, 1995). As production of electronics grows, and the over consumption of these products grows, the question we need to ask ourselves, is how did consumption reach such an alarming rate and what can we do to fix it?
Besides this environmental effect, working from home can also have psychological effects on, not only the person whom is conducting business at the home, but also on the people that inhabit the home along with this person. Persons working from home may begin to feel depressed, due to several factors which include monotony, loneliness, and stress (Thompson, 2006). Although monotony, can be present in anyone’s work, whether working from home or at an office daily activities can become routine and boring. The major reason this monotony is of large concern to the telecommuter, is that they almost never leave the confinement of their home. Working form home one also loses the necessary social interactions that one would normal get from an office setting. Loss of this interaction adds to peoples stress levels, which can already be overwhelmed by daily stresses, such as work anxiety, bills, and family stresses.
When people work under stress, they are not functioning at their optimum level. Heightened stress levels can increase a person risk for heart disease, memory impairment, and obesity (Mayo Clinc Staff, 2010). Adding to this stress level is the blurring line between ones home life and work life. As one becomes almost entirely integrated into their work, personal relationships can begin to breakdown, along with the person awareness. People that are stressed often look for the path of least resistance, like in their eating habits, clothing and other aspects of their life. Fast food, processed food, shopping, and even TV are ways that people cope with stress, adding to the over-consumption and over production of “throw-away” goods.
Conclusion
I’m not saying telecommuting is evil, AND I’m also not saying that everyone should commute to an office. It can in some cases be a brilliant way for a person to conduct business, and be a part of family affairs when the occasion arises. But it can has been shown that working from home introduces a person to a different set of environmental stresses, that can lead to a disconnectION from their reality, and can lead to environmentally unsustainable practices by companies and individuals alike.Supporting sites:
Telecommuting: Benefits and Challenges for Employers and Employee
http://www.hrhero.com/topics/telecommute.html
Telecommuting issues
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/1997/07/07/focus2.htmlTelecommuting: 10 Issues to Consider
http://www.cunahrtdcouncil.org/news/110.htmlWorked Cited:
Mayo Clinc Staff. (2010, September 11). Stress: Constant stress puts your health at risk. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from mayoclinc.com: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001/METHOD=printThompson, S. (2006, November 2006). Working from Home: How to Avoid Depression. (Yahoo.com) Retrieved October 23, 2010, from Associated Content: www.associatedcontent.com
Tracey Crosbie and Jeanne Moore (2004). Work–life Balance and Working from Home. Social Policy and Society, 3, pp 223-233 doi:10.1017/S1474746404001733
Shamir B, Salomon I. Work-At-Home and the Quality of Working Life. Academy of Management Review [serial online]. July 1985;10(3):455-464. Available from: Business Source Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 16, 2010.
Image Sources:
Clock wise from left:
"As Telecommuting Takes off." Cartoon. Innovisons Canada. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ivc.ca/images/insites_telecommuting_art.jpg>.HolBrook, Bill. "On the Fasttrack." Comic strip. Innovisons Canada. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ivc.ca/images/fromjoyce.jpg>.
Cox, Dennis. "Telecommuter." Cartoon. Home Office Mail. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.the-office.com/vidman.jpg>.